A Nice View
by chipofmintchocolate
Summary: Dick has stayed under Artemis' radar and avoided bumping into her at Gotham Academy, but he can't resist the urge to show off when she stops to watch him play basketball. Traught with a dash of DickBabs. Mostly ArtemisXDick's butt.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Nope. Not mine.

**Pairings:** Traught and a smidgin of DickBabs. Mostly Artemis X Dick's butt.

**Note:** I may write more parts to this, depending on people's reaction to the story.

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**A Nice View**

* * *

_Artemis peered down at the shorter boy and then looked up as he held a camera in front of their faces._

_"We'll laugh about this someday."_

_The digital camera flashed, blinding the two teens and capturing the moment in a flare of searing light. _

* * *

Dick kept a safe distance between his alter-ego and Artemis after snapping his picture. He knew Artemis was a jock, but she wasn't a moron.

If Dick Grayson started getting buddy-buddy with Artemis Crock, it wouldn't take long for her to connect his two identities. He would troll her constantly as Robin ("My school doesn't start for another week." "No kidding! Mine too."), and he wanted her to figure out who he was, but he didn't want to make it _that _easy.

Thus their non-hero relationship could be summarized as the following: she was the punk transfer from Gotham High; he was the mathlete at the top of his class. He was the skinny shrimp with the slicked back hair. She could have brought every heterosexual Gotham Academy male to his knees with her husky voice, even though she already had a boyfriend. They ran with different friend groups, had different interests, and lived separate lives.

The closest thing they had in common was they attended the same school, and Dick intended to keep it that way. If Artemis knew anything about Dick Grayson, besides the fact he existed, Robin wouldn't have been doing his job. He made himself pointedly unmemorable and blended with the underclassmen crowd, even when every cell in his body screamed for him to put on the performance of his life, to make her notice him as she passed by without a sideways glance.

However, when he finally hit his growth spurt and started looking more like his father, a few things changed. Girls began to really look at him instead of just giggling at the witty things he said. Babs' jealousy raged 24/7, and she never left his side, even using her "daughter of the commissioner" status to change her class schedule to mirror his.

Not that he was complaining. Her interference kept the sea of other girls out of his personal space. One glare from Babs could scare away anyone with less backbone than Batman. It also didn't hurt that time had been good to her as well. Dick wasn't about to say no to having a pretty girl on his arm.

Even though they never defined it as such, for all functional and technical purposes, Gordon acted as his bodyguard/girlfriend.

All of these things he had at least somewhat expected. It was Artemis' response that caught him completely off guard.

He was playing three-on-three with some of the guys at the outdoor court when he noticed a few upperclassmen passing by. Gotham Academy uniforms differed slightly depending on the grade of the student. Dress-code restrictions were more relaxed for seniors, and twelfth grade girls were known for their shorter skirts.

Wiping sweat off his upper lip, he peered out the corner of his eye to give them a second look.

Bette, Artemis, and a couple other girls were chatting amongst themselves, some chancing a interested glace at him. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of Artemis' growing social circle. While still keeping his distance, Dick had checked up on her every once in a while to see if Artemis had found her niche and was making friends. He had put in a good word for her here and there, but for the most part, Artemis was able to make her own new life without assistance. As her teammate, it made him happy to see her happy.

"Grayson!"

Bette's blonde head jerked up at the sound of his surname, and the girl group came to a halt. He spun around just in time to catch a basketball aimed for the back of his head.

"Checking out the upperclassmen?" his friend called.

He laughed good-naturedly, dribbling from one hand to another.

"Naw, Gordon would kill me if I did that."

"You guys should get together already," another guy said, and the rest of them laughed at Dick's expense.

Shrugging off their usual jeers, he went back to the center, calculating what move he should make next. He wondered if Artemis and co. were still watching, and when he saw her standing on the other side of the fence, the performer's blood churned in his veins. A smile popped onto his face, and he decided since she had hung around, he might as well give her a show.

After a few passes back and forth, he "accidentally" let the other team get the ball. The players tore down the court, and with as little "Robin" to his movements as he could manage, he single-handedly turned the game around.

First, he blocked their best shooter from getting a basket and passed to a teammate, who dribbled halfway up the court and threw the ball back to Dick. He dribbled up to the midcourt line and stopped as a defender blocked his way.

Leaving himself just a second to aim, he jumped. Hands poised for the throw, he relished in the ball's smooth release as it slipped from his fingertips. The ball made a beautiful "swoosh" as it dived through the net, and Dick's feet returned to earth.

The players froze in awe, and then the court exploded with yells and whoops. A three-pointer from 47 feet away. Batman's "special training" had paid off.

Dick's face glowed with adrenaline, mouth panting, eyes wide open, looking boyishly handsome in his excitement. If this didn't catch Artemis' attention, he didn't know what would.

His teammates gave him mixed reactions, "Showing off, Grayson?" "Come on man, that wasn't cool. Be a team player," some congratulatory fists to the shoulder, and a few claps to the back. But Dick wasn't worried about them. With the eagle vision of the Greatest Detective's protégé, he snuck a spit-second glace behind him.

The upperclassmen girls were still there, predictably enough. Most of the group was busy giggling and pointing at him with sparkling eyes and hands over their laughing mouths. Since Bette was a childhood friend of his, she only rolled her eyes and reluctantly acknowledged, yes, Dick Grayson makes even sweat look good, with a sideways angle to her head. All reactions Dick could have predicted.

At the last second, he focused in on Crock.

Artemis wasn't a giggler, so he wasn't surprised she hadn't joined her friends in ogling him. However, he'd never seen that particular expression on her face before. One eyebrow raised, arms crossed, weight shifted to one hip, and mouth tilted into a sideways smirk. She almost looked…impressed, a rare if not impossible emotion for a Crock.

Her eyes were focused in the same direction as her friends but at a slightly different angle.

Dick quickly turned away before she noticed him staring.

What exactly was she looking at, he wondered as he waited for the opposing team to make their move. Then it clicked. A slow grin made its way across his face as a friend intercepted a pass and tossed him the ball.

_Artemis Crock had been checking him out!_ Okay, maybe she hadn't been checking _all_ of him out. Just his butt. He mentally chortled in glee and resisted the urge to show off his_..._assets for her again.

He could practically hear the noise of her thoughts, "Mmm, that boy," over M'gann's telepathic connection in his mind.

The idea filled him with an inexplicable mixture of pleasure, pride, and amusement. He couldn't wipe the manic grin off his face for the remainder of the game. His smile stayed firmly in place long after Artemis and her friends had left.

When he started chuckling to himself aloud, a friend stopped and said, "Dude. You're creeping me out."

"Yeah, what's so funny?"

He blinked, no longer smiling.

Well, he couldn't really answer, "You know Artemis Crock? Senior, hottest girl in school? I'm supposed to barely know her but we're actually afriends. She was checking me out even though she has a boyfriend. It's hilarious, because she thinks I'm hot but she doesn't know Dick Grayson is Robin. If she did know, she probably wouldn't have been staring at my ass."

So he said, "Oh, I just thought up a joke. What is non-orientable and lives in the ocean?

No one tried to guess.

"Möbius Dick!"

They just stared at him. One mumbled, "Math dweeb," another said, "That wasn't funny..."

Gordon appeared on the scene just in time. With a pointed look towards Dick, the redhead leaned against the wire entrance to the court with her arms crossed under her chest. Babs was not to be kept waiting.

"Gordon's here. Gotta go."

This elicited hoots, hollers, and a few wolf whistles from his mates as Dick jogged to catch up to Babs.

"Gross." Gordon pinched her nose delicately, looking her friend up and down. "You reek."

Dark, moist patches of sweat patterned his gray GA basketball t-shirt, and his hair had fallen out of its signature slicked-back shape. In this state, he looked less like Dick Grayson, the math nerd wonder, and more like Robin after a weight-lifting session in the training room.

"Want a hug?" He reached for her.

"No!" she snapped, moving back, and he began to laugh.

"What's got you so chipper today?" she asked suspiciously, noticing the light in his eyes and the bounce to his step.

He just smiled and said nothing, tucking the day back into a special corner of his mind where he stored the memories he couldn't share with anyone.

A place where he kept a picture of two teens touching shoulders, the girl slightly cross-eyed and the freshman grinning like he had just won a Nobel Prize.


	2. Chapter 2

**Inspired by:** Young Justice

**Characters:** Dick and Artemis (Traught)

**Summary: ** When one hot basketball player dribbles into her life, Artemis doesn't know quite what to do with herself. Artemis' POV.

**Note:** This is a collab between asterush and myself. She did the cover art and animation. I wrote the drabble. Be sure to check the whole thing out at chipofmintchocolate . tumblr post / 27581514369 / a-nice-view-part-2

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**A Nice View: Part 2**

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From a young age, Artemis had a refined taste when it came to boys.

Tall and built were two indispensable features for her "perfect man." Blue-eyed and dark-haired just added icing to the beefcake.

So when her "white rabbit" Superboy flew over her head, through the wall of Gotham Academy's gym, and into her life, she felt instantly attracted to him.

Of course, the archer could delicately separate carnal desires from emotional attraction in her mind. When she ended up with Wally, she considered his looks (exactly the opposite of her dream boy's appearance) as proof to her that it wasn't pure lust between them. She believed what they had was something she could feel, something that was real and better than her previous flings and crushes.

Then this basketball player, who physically checked and double-checked every tab on her "perfect man" list, had to come along.

The other day as she was walking to class with friends, they had passed by a group of guys playing three-on-three. There had been nothing better to do in the ten minutes before U.S. History, so Artemis decided to stay with the girls and watch the game.

When mystery boy spread out his toned legs and crouched into position to catch a ball from his teammate, or when he soared through the air as he pitched a basket, arm muscles bunching and flexing, she could feel the lyrics of LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" reverberating in her mind.

_Ahhh, girl, look at that body… Ahhh, girl, look at that body…_

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she muttered to herself as for the fifth time that day, the image of that hot guy's ass popped into her head with its theme music in the background.

In the moment, just watching him move had been a pleasure, but in the aftermath, her less-than-pure thoughts left a bad taste in her mouth. She didn't know why (because it wasn't like she could cheat on Wally with her EYES, right?), but since she already had a boyfriend, she was feeling undeniably guilty.

"Artemis, you're talking to yourself again," Bette said with a roll of her eyes.

Her friends had long grown used to Artemis' quirks, which included an inbred paranoia, a tendency to hoard food (always saving snacks or half of her lunch for later), and reflexes so sharp they were borderline inhuman.

"Oh. Sorry," she mumbled self-consciously, adjusting her schoolbooks in her arms.

_Think of something else. Think of...grilled cheese. Think of the carrot top you FELL IN LOVE WITH, god dammit..._

Maybe that would force the imagery out of her head before she had to face Wally and explain why she was acting guilty and evasive.

Bette parted ways to head to her English AP class while Artemis veered in the opposite direction, passing through the junior class halls on her way to Spanish. She was so distracted by _not_ thinking of that guy, _not_ letting the shape of his…glutes…cross her mind, that she failed to notice when someone came up behind her, colliding into her as they passed.

Clipped from behind, Artemis tripped on a flat surface and fell forward to her hands and knees. Her books, pens, and papers went flying in all directions.

"Shoot!" she hissed, trying to shuffle the mess back together.

At the noise, the student who had so carelessly bumped into her stopped, and then turned around, but Artemis didn't notice.

At this rate, she was going to be late to class again! Señor Castillo was going to kill her! With pencils sticking out at odd angles and all her schoolwork in a disheveled pile, she hastily stood up to sprint to class, only to find herself toe-to-toe with Mr. Hot Ass himself.

_Oh. My. God._ She felt weak at the ankles. This was _so_ not happening to her.

His ears stuck out from his dark hair slightly (she could imagine him as a kid who had to grow into his ears), and his irises were such an intense hue of blue, it was almost unreal.

Yep. She swallowed slowly. This junior was the physical definition of her perfect man, and she didn't even know his name.

"I think you forgot something."

His interjection pulled her out of her daze, and she blinked stupidly as his eyes focused on a spot on the floor.

"Oh," she said, but before she could move to grab the stray pen, he beat her to it.

He bent over to reach for it, and the blood drained from Artemis' face. The fabric of his pants stretched taught over his butt as he leaned over. No one had business looking so good in school-issued trousers.

Artemis licked her chapped lips. _Day-um_ that ass was fine. There was no denying it.

"Sorry for bumping into you back there," he said, handing the blue ballpoint to the speechless senior. "We don't know each other from anywhere…do we?"

"I-I don't think so."

It frustrated her, but the confident persona she took on as Artemis, the crime fighting archer, abandoned her at school. At Gotham Academy, she was Artemis Crock, the transfer, the quiet but tough-girl type. Problems had to be solved socially and academically, when she naturally preferred solutions involving arrows and fists. Neither of which would do her any good after running into Mr. Hot Ass on her way to Spanish.

"Well, since we're already late to class…" Artemis chanced a glance at the digital hallway clock and groaned. "Might as well introduce ourselves. Dick Grayson."

He extended his hand to her, and Artemis hesitantly took it (she _never _did anything hesitantly. Something was obviously wrong).

"Artemis. Artemis Crock."

"Nice to meet you, Artemis."

Why did her name sound so nice when he said it?

His blue eyes twinkled and crinkled, and a dimple formed on the left side of his cheek. Artemis felt like she was going to die.

_You have a boyfriend. His name is Wally. Wally Wally Wally Wally…._

"A little late to make introductions, considering I'm graduating in a few months," she said with an almost sad smile.

"Naw, it's never too late."

Grinning, he stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled past her, taking one hand out to wave back to her as he went.

"See you around."

"Yeah. See you."

For a second, she squelched the urge to take one last nice look at him, but then she decided, _I'm going to girlfriend hell for this anyways_, so she appreciated her eye candy as he disappeared down the hall.

And then she lit off for Spanish like her grades depended on it (which they probably did).

Little did she know Mr. Mystery Man was her teammate Robin, who was currently hiding behind some lockers and watching her go with the goofiest grin on his face.

Mission "Troll Artemis with Butt" (TAWB) Phase 2 = Success

_Later after school..._

Guess what song was playing when Artemis arrived at the department store where she worked?

"_I'm sexy, and I know it…"_

"Arg!"


End file.
